Review: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

Book: The Iron Daughter, Julie Kagawa 

Series: The Iron Fey #2

Publisher: Harlequin Teen 

Release Date: August 1st, 2010

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.


Rating: 4 stars

This book takes off just after The Iron King, where Meghan, our half-Fae, half-human princess, has been a “guest” (which is a term used lightly) in Queen Mab’s kingdom in the Winter Court. While she is there she witnesses the Changing of the Seasons, an event where Oberon, King of the Summer Court (and Meghan’s father) comes to the Winter (or Unseelie) Court to give Mab the Sceptre of the Seasons to acknowledge the passing of Summer to Winter. What nobody expects, however, is for the Iron Fey to kidnap the Sceptre right under everyone’s noses to enact a war between the two courts and so that the Iron Fey will be given more power. Meghan is the only one to witness the robbery, but nobody believes that it was the Iron Fey that did it so it’s up to Meghan, Ash and Puck to get the Sceptre back before the war between Summer and Winter can get out of hand.

I enjoyed the plot of this book, even though it dragged a little in some places. I really loved how the Iron Fey came into being; I thought that was very creative. Some of the villains were wonderfully written, and there are many characters I love – Grimalkin, Ironhorse, Puck, Leanansidhe (which for the life of me I can’t figure out how to pronounce), and Oberon. Even Ash has his attributes. The one character I didn’t like in this book? The heroine herself, Meghan Chase.

I'm sorry, I really tried, but she was so whiny in this book! I thought it was totally obvious why Ash was so sweet and kind to her in private, but then horrible to her in public. He obviously knew the rules about Winter and Summer fey not being able to be together, and was obviously being nasty to Meghan to protect both of them. Why Meghan couldn’t see this was quite beyond me, and she then proceeded to cry and be upset about it. I mean, he told her every chance he had that a relationship is impossible, and yet she still seems shocked when he behaves badly. And she became a little bit obsessed, with him crowding her every thought.

I also wasn’t expecting the love triangle in this book, but I actually liked it. Puck has been by Meghan’s side for as long as she can remember, and I don’t think she would last so long without him. And it’s obvious he’s loved her for a long time but she’s always only seen him as a friend. But with Ash’s rejection and hurtful comments still at the forefront of her mind, suddenly Meghan is seeing Puck differently. Is it the same as she feels for Ash? No, but it’s something special and lovely on its own. I really enjoyed this part of the story, and despite how the book ended, I don’t think this love triangle is quite finished yet.

And that ending! I was so not expecting it. Despite Meghan’s obsession with Ash, I also can’t deny how cute their love is. I’m still undecided whether I prefer Ash or Puck as both are great characters and potential love interests for Meghan, but it’s fair to say Ash and Meghan have been given a lot more page time. 

“Summer and Winter were not supposed to fall in love.”

What I would have loved to have seen more in this book is the exploration of Meghan and Oberon’s relationship. They barely said two words to each other in this book, and I wish Meghan could’ve spent a little time in the Summer Court. Oberon seems like such a grumpy character but I believe he truly cares about his daughter in his own way. I really hope we get to see that in the following books.

For those who read The Iron King and are unsure whether to continue the series, I would recommend it. While Meghan can get quite irritating sometimes, the other characters more than make up for that, and besides that, the world and characters Julie Kagawa created really is wonderful.